Y'know I always hated practice tests at arasaka, but this definetly takes the cake on the worst final exam of my life.
My body hummed with mechanical power as I burst through the forest running like my life depended on it, my APOGEE turning me into a blur to the world. Even still, I knew she wasn't far behind, the tell tale whistle of an airborne body cutting through the wind was enough evidence that she was homing in on me.
This was my final test, being able to escape the human fighter jet that was the matron. She said that if I could outrun her I would be able to outrun any of her peers, I didn't doubt it. I had reached a new peak compared to my last life, these last three years was more experience getting used to my cyberware and power itself. I didn't have the devastating AoE of the cyberskeleton, but other than that? I don't think I would need any more than ten seconds to go and do the same amount of damage.
Damn, quirks are busted.
Plus, I wasn't a chrome junkie for nothing, I had been tinkering and upgrading pretty much everything I used on the daily. My kiroshis didn't just scan and give a brief description, they could give full medical scans, show weak points, the works. And that was just my eyes. My Sandy? More efficient than ever after combining the best from each of the schematics and overclocking it to hell and back.
Don't gotta worry bout overheating nerves I had found ways to refresh. Speaking of, the corps really had some cool fucking toys locked that they never finished.
Like a prototype artificial nervous system, P.A.N.S. for short, that overlaps your own and connects to the brain stem, effectively giving you two of them. It cost a fuck ton of calories though because of how complex mapping my own nervous system is. I had to pack my head like a netrunner damn near to process it all and it took a lot of digging into how the brain stem actually worked before I was confident enough to improve and implement the implant. Hey, was that alliteration? Suck it saka I'm smarter homeschooled!
I really am a humble genius at tim-
My foot slammed into a higher growing root sticking up from the earth, crashing right through it but also sending me flying because of inertia. Maybe I should stop talking to myself when I'm supposed to be running for my life.
She wasnt that far she definitely felt me tumble and slow down.
'Well speak of the devil.'
Crimson wings blocked out the sun above me, wind whipping trying to catch up to the blur in its skies.
"Found you." This wasn't the same Matron from four years ago who was pulling her punches on a surprisingly sturdy rookie. She was trying to put my head through the floor and force me home so she could keep an eye on me.
I reorient myself mid tumble, using a tree as a spring board I dart away, donning my optical camo as she slams into my previous position, obliterating the tree into shrapnel and sawdust with her favorite; that damn dropkick.
Whatever I can handle this, I'm stronger than I've ever been. I think, I still don't know what the upper limit of the cyberskeleton was, I may never, or could I make one with my quirk if I had a schematic to work with?Whatever, thoughts for later. Regardless right now I'm putting old me to shame in every category except fire power.
I continued putting distance between us as I went over the plan in my head again, distract, disorient, then capture. There were more steps to it but that was the simple way of putting it. I wasn't just gonna run and scramble like our first match, and second and third to up until now round forty-five. Today I was gonna win, show I was good enough to protect Moe and myself. And get even with this old bat out of hell that's beaten the crap out of me every time.
And that started with running.
"I~ smell~ youuuu~."
Bullshit, it's those fucking antenna!
My cloaked form flickered into existence as I caught her fist, grunting in exertion to catch her insane momentum and hold my ground. My feet dragged trenches into the dirt, I brought my back one forward in a high kick parrying the old ladies off course.
"See ya-." And I blurred away again, it takes her a second to build enough momentum to keep up with my top speed distance wise so I had about three of em before she's back on my ass.
I reapplied my camo then equipped my PLS and gorilla arms in the same breath, firing a custom made 'smoke shell' at the ground behind me, I hid in the cloud to mess with her ability to feel me through the wind. I switched to an impact shell next, firing riiiiiiiiight…
*WHOOSH*
'There!'
The second my kiroshis caught her heat sig hit the edge of the cloud I let a shot go ahead of her trajectory into the smoke. These weren't the usual explosive rounds that eviserate people like water balloons, they were more focused on creating a wide shockwave and sending people flying, a knock-back bomb pretty much, which with her wicked momentum sent her crashing into a tree.
She wasn't such an experienced fighter just for show though, having probably anticipated a trap from the smoke cloud she had already wrapped herself in her durable ass wings, tanking both impacts. She pretty much just bounced off the huge trunk
The instant they unfurled she lunged again, well tried to, my fist was waiting for her at supersonic speeds. Instead of the impact I was expecting, she had managed a flap of her wings, forcing her body down in a split underneath my punch. I had punched a chunk out of the tree as she delivered a jab right to my invisible family jewels! Hey that's fighting dirty ain't it!?
*CLANK*
Except I had metal plating over my whole groin area. I knew this old lady had no reservations going for the most vulnerable bits, she told me villains wouldn't mind fighting dirty so I should get used to it. The first time she punched me in the balls and then sweeped my legs from under me I took the lesson to heart.
I smirked and punted her away before she could get up, turning her into a projectile that kicked up a cloud of soil and dust. Pressing the advantage, I let off two two rapid moving impact shells from my forearm cannons where she landed, twin explosions erupted in my ears.
They struck true but she had brushed most of the shockwave away with her right wing, deflecting the damage and resuming her chase. She went to grab my wrist I flicked her off with my forearm as she went to jab my face with the other hand.
I catch it in my palm but she had found her momentum now, flipping with my grip as a fulcrum and delivering a kick to my metal trap muscle, kicking me so hard I bounce off the ground.
"You fai-,"
*BZZZZT*
A high pitch screech of electricity tears through the area around me in all directions, getting some breathing room and lightly scorching my teachers wings as she retreated.
The bio shock had a cool down, and I didn't want to waste the energy to refresh it, I'd rather just let it recharge normally.
All of my current stamina was being reserved for resetting my Sandy at a moments notice or upping my armor.
So I righted myself and took off in a blur toward the trees ready to set the final part of the plan into motion.
And she really thought I was just gonna run without getting a point on the board.
—————
'He ran more than I thought he would, I swore he would have started more aggressive than that knowing the little shit.'
Quite versatile he's become these last few years, every fight he tried a new trick but simply put. I only got my neurotoxin quirk after I had gained that man's trust.
Before that? Breaking things was me and the big guy job. What was that oafs name again? No, not the time, I'm still conducting an exam here.
With a sharp flap of my wings I shoot myself after him like a rifle round with a flying kick aimed for the back of his knee. Expectedly, he somehow reacts to the attack from behind and leaps over me.
I skid to a halt immediately, my arm flashing upward to grab his ankle and throw him back into ground like before, yet my grip only meets open air. I don't know how but he managed to jump a second time mid air, looking down at me with his arm cannon poised and an annoyingly smug look on his face. Slippery little shit.
"Surprise~" he drawled on as he fired a shell that looked identical to the ones before. I hastily wrap myself in my wings to eat the impact but instead a blinding light and a deafening boom rang out, stunning me for a moment.
And before I could get my bearings I felt my wings be wrapped in some type of sharp wire. It obliviously wasn't turned on because it wasn't burning or cutting my wings but he still squeezed and kept my wings stuck to me. I was immobilized, the boy had one fair and square.
I met his eyes through the gap in my wings I had forced, he was breathing a little heavier but he definitely wasn't panting, his posture was steady and I could practically feel the confidence radiating off of him.
I could break free if I fully exerted my wings but this was good enough for now.
"Well damn Davi, looks like a passing score to me." My voice carried the secondhand pride I felt at the moment.
Dinner was well earned tonight, I'll make sure he gets a proper feast.